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Motorists driving cars with partial automation soon learn to adapt to the various safeguards that are present in these systems, possibly increasing their car accident risks.

According to a new study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, drivers are very quick to learn ways to circumvent the limits or safeguards set by the partial automation systems in their cars. Vehicles with partial automation systems require motorists to continue to pay attention to the task of driving and step in when there needs to be an intervention.  However, an analysis of several partial automation systems in automobiles show that this is not always the case.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety researchers focused on a number of partial automation systems, including  Volvo’s  Pilot Assist System and Tesla’s Auto Pilot system.  In the Volvo system, the researchers found that drivers were often distracted by snacking and checking their phones while the system was at work. They were also likely to get more distracted as they became use to the system and as they learned to get around the limitations imposed by the system.  Drivers using Tesla’s Auto Pilot found ways to get around the warning system before it escalated into a full blown intervention. They continued to engage in distracting behaviors only stepping in to take  minimum actions to stop warnings or alerts issued by the system.

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At some point, in our day, we are all pedestrians.  Negligence by pedestrians places them at risk of being involved in an auto accident, not just when a the person is walking on the road, but also when he or she is exiting their car,  jogging,  leaving an office building or engaging in other activities.  There  can be no safety for motorists unless there is safety for pedestrians.

Next month, the Department of Transportation celebrates National Pedestrian Safety Month, and transportation safety organizations as well as pedestrian  safety advocates around the country will focus on raising awareness about the rights of pedestrians and ways of keeping them safer.  The Halloween holiday towards the end of October also increases the overall risk of auto accidents for pedestrians, especially children, which makes the month of October an even better time for  safety organizations to raise awareness about the car accident risks facing pedestrians.

The need to spread awareness about the rights of pedestrians has become even more dire in 2024,  with a steady increase in the number of pedestrians being killed in car accidents recorded over the past  2 years.  Pedestrian  wrongful deaths now account for some of the highest numbers of wrongful deaths in car accidents  nationwide. In 2022, according to statistics by the United States Department of Transportation,  there were more than 7,500 pedestrian  accident wrongful deaths.  That translated into an average of 21 pedestrians dying daily in auto accidents. It also means that an average of 70 pedestrians were killed in auto accidents every minute in the United States that year. Pedestrians accounted for 18% of all traffic accident wrongful deaths in 2022.

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Children are some of the most vulnerable victims of car accidents. Georgia transportation safety agencies recently commemorated National Child Passenger Safety Week which this year fell between September 15 and 21.

The  Georgia Governors Office of Highway Safety and the Department of Public Health were out in full force during National Child Passenger Safety Week.  Certified child safety car seat technicians went around the state, checking car seats and educating parents about the need to make sure that their children are restrained in appropriate car seats whenever they are travelling in a car. Proper restraints are the best way to prevent children from suffering severe personal injuries in car accidents.

Georgia’s laws for car seat use are extremely clear. Under the law, children below the age of 8 must be safely restrained in a booster seat or a car seat depending on their height and weight.  Many parents, however, fail to ensure their children are restrained appropriately for their age, height and weight with disastrous  consequences.  While most parents are aware of the need to make sure their children are restrained correctly, they may have their car seats installed incorrectly or they may be restraining their children in car safety seats or booster seats that are not appropriate for their child.  Georgia parents can check the safety of their child car seat at www.gahighway.org, and get information about how to get their car seat checked by a certified technician.

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Veterans groups and spinal cord injury organizations are marking the month of September as Spinal Cord Injury Awareness Month to bring more attention and awareness to the challenges faced by the thousands of Americans who live with these debilitating personal injuries.

Spinal cord personal injuries occur when there is any kind of damage to the spinal cord as a result of a trauma to the spine such as through a car accident or fall. These personal injuries can cause a number of effects that are often not just physical, but also emotional and psychological  in nature. The impact  of a spinal cord injury can depend on the location of the injury as well as its severity.  Depending on the location of the injury, the person may no longer be able to enjoy movement of his hands and legs. In a complete spinal cord injury, the patient may lose sensation below the location of the spinal injury, while in an incomplete spinal injury, the patient may feel some degree of sensation and enjoy some movement in the area below the site of the spinal injury.  The degree of sensation and movement can differ depending on other factors.

A spinal cord injury can result in loss of movement, and loss of sensation or the ability to differentiate between hot and cold. Other effects include respiratory difficulties, frequent coughing and difficulty breathing, pain and stinging sensation in the affected areas as well spasms. The patient may experience significant loss of bladder and bowel control.

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Preliminary statistics by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration  show a drop in the number of people killed nationwide in auto accidents during the first 6 months of 2024.  This is the 9th consecutive quarterly drop in car accident fatality numbers. It is important to better understand why this drop in auto accident wrongful deaths occurred and to continue to work to improve the numbers.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recently released encouraging news in the form of car accident data for the first half of 2024. The statistics show that there was a 3% drop in the number of  auto accident fatalities during the first 6 months of 2024, compared to the same period of time in 2023.  The data reveals that there were 18,720 deaths in car accidents between January and July of 2024.  This was a drop from the 19,330 deaths that were recorded during the first 6 months of 2023.

This drop came even as there was a slight increase in the number of vehicle miles traveled by Americans in the first half of 2024, compared to the same period of time last year.  This year, Americans traveled approximately 0. 8% higher number of vehicle miles or 13.1 billion extra miles, compared to the same period of time in 2023.  Overall, 32 states recorded a drop in auto accident deaths during the first half of 2024.  This included the state of Georgia which recorded 696 deaths in car accidents during the first six months of 2024, in comparison with 762 deaths during the same period of time last year.

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Uninsured or under-insured patients, who have suffered spinal cord injuries due to auto accident or other traumatic events, may be much more likely to be taken off life support.

A  recent study measured the impact of insurance coverage on the survival and recovery of persons after a spinal cord injury. The study focused on more than 8,400 American adults who had suffered a spinal cord injury, and found that uninsured or under-insured patients were much more likely to be taken off life support much earlier than those with insurance.

Spinal cord injuries are often caused in auto accidents, trucking accidents and  motorcycle accidents. These are not just devastating personal injuries with long-term consequences, but are also extremely expensive personal injuries to treat.  The costs involved in treating spinal cord injuries can range between $95,000 to well above $1,000,000,  depending on the complexity or level of the injury.  Spinal cord injuries very often can result in paralysis, which in turn, can lead to a number of other effects on a person’s health.

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A  new bill that is expected to be introduced soon would require federal standards for the heights of SUVs and pick-up trucks to also consider pedestrian safety. This is an extremely important change which is likely to save lives in auto accidents involving pedestrians and bicycles.

According to Representative Mary Gay Scanlon (D-Pennsylvania),  who is introducing the new bill, while there is much that is currently being done to protect occupants inside the vehicle, there is much more that can also be done in order to protect vulnerable users like pedestrians and bicyclists who are outside the vehicle when auto accidents occur.

The popularity of pick-up trucks and SUVs has skyrocketed in the past few decades, and these are some of the most in-demand automobiles on the American roads.  Unfortunately, while these are very popular vehicles, their  presence on our roads also pose a serious danger to motorists,  pedestrians and bicyclists.  Their large sizes and bulk makes it much more likely that occupants of smaller vehicles will suffer serious personal injuries or wrongful deaths when they are involved in an auto accident with these large SUVs and trucks.  There is immense danger to pedestrians  and other vulnerable users like bicyclists who are involved in auto accidents with these vehicles.

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Senior citizens who drink alcohol have a much higher risk of experiencing brain bleeds after suffering a slip and fall. Increasing awareness among Senior Citizens is the key to preventing these slip and falls which often cause serious personal injuries.

According to a new study, even seniors who drink moderately may be at a much higher risk of suffering a brain bleed if they have been involved in a slip and fall accident. Slip and fall accidents are some of the most devastating adverse events that seniors can experience.  These  accidents can result in the kind of personal injuries that not just permanently injure or disable the senior, but also reduce his life span significantly. Slip and fall  accidents, for instance, can result in hip fractures which some studies have linked to an increased risk of fatality in the year following the personal injury.

According to the researchers, their studies find a strong correlation between regular drinking and intracranial hemorrhage after a slip and fall accident. The risk of suffering a brain bleed after a fall doubled in the case of seniors who drank weekly.  In the case of seniors who drank daily, the risks of suffering a brain bleed increased by 2.5 times.

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Minority groups, including blacks and Hispanic Americans, seem to have been disproportionately affected by the increase in fatal car accidents recorded across the country during the pandemic.

According to new studies, black and Hispanic Americans as well as people with lower educational attainment were the most likely to suffer an impact from the increase in auto accidents between 2020 and 2022.  This period of time recorded a significant increase in car accidents with new research from the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety stating that as many as 114,000 people were killed in auto accidents between May 2020 and December 2022. This was a staggering 17% jump in the fatality numbers from before the pandemic.

Teens between the ages of 16 and 19 took the top spot in auto accident wrongful deaths.  Overall, young persons between the ages of 20 and 24 also recorded very high increases in car accident numbers during this time.  Male drivers were also much more likely to suffer fatal personal injuries in auto accidents between 2020 and 2022, exceeding estimates by as much as 14%.

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The use of interventions including financial incentives, goals and social competition can significantly help reduce the incidence of distracted driving on our streets.

Distracted driving causes thousands of car accidents in the metro Atlanta region every year.   A new study proves that different interventions could be used to help bring about changes in driver behaviors, resulting in motorists being less likely to reach out for their cell phones while driving.

The study was conducted by an insurance provider and divided more than 1500 participants into 5 groups.  The first group was the control group which only received information about the dangers of using a handheld cell phone while driving.  Group 2 was given a free phone mount, while group 3 was given habit formation tips over a period of several weeks.  Groups 4 and 5 were sent text messages about their performance on handheld cell phone use goals, and were given the chance to win or lose points based on their usage. Participants in group 5 were also given the chance to share in a $2000 prize if they met their goals.

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